ANKARA, Turkey, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- A state-run oil company in Turkey said Tuesday it discovered oil while working in what it described as tough conditions near the borders with Iraq and Iran.
State-run Turkey Petroleum Co., known by its Turkish initials TPAO, said it discovered oil while working in Sirnak province near the southern border with Iraq and Iran.
Gokhan Akin, a regional TPAO director, was quoted by Turkish newspaper Hurriyet as saying the discovery was made in tough geological conditions.
"The oil at the well is at the value of the neighboring country's [Iraq] oil but the test studies for the daily capacity will be completed within this week," he said Tuesday.
The company offered no estimate of the reserve potential at the Caliskan-1 well, which it started exploring six months ago.
TPAO said this is its first discovery of so-called high gravity oil in the region.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a February profile of Turkey that most of its oil is found in the southeast region of the country. Turkish oil production peaked in 1991 at 85,000 barrels per day.
